New York Down
by feralfamilyof7
Summary: Atlanta has fallen, she's got nowhere to go. Her fellow soldiers are either missing or dead. When she runs into a certain one handed redneck during her late escape of Atlanta, she realizes the apocalypse was the least of her problems. The group wants her gone along with Merle and Lori especially seems to despise her. How do you cope when humans are your worst enemy? Merle/Oc.
1. Atlanta

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><p>She had seen a lot of shit in her life. But none could've prepared her for this mess…<p>

The sound of the helicopter drowned out everything else around her. It was like watching a silent movie in slow motion as the napalm bombs were dropped onto the swarming streets below. Atlanta was a goddamn war zone and they were in the middle of it. All around people screamed as they burned alive or got ripped apart by the swarm of biters down below.

They multiplied so incredibly fast as people died every second. The reanimation were much quicker here in the city then they had been in the country side a couple of days ago. They were trying their hardest to keep the outbreak contained but she could see that they were fighting a losing battle. They couldn't win this.

The choppers radio crackled again as they were given new orders. They had to get in with the ground troops, support them in closing off the city. This was a fucking suicide mission and she knew it. She looked to her left to see Vitya nodding at her. Her Russian friend was with her till the bitter end.

She faintly heard Jeffry yell something at the pilot as the chopper hovered over one of the rooftops of a large office building. She nodded at her teammates and jumped the two yards down with ease. The squad of six slowly made their way down to the street to provide extraction for the tank drivers that gotten stuck in their vehicle.

They never even got close…

They shot down everything that came near them, no matter if it was a man, woman, child or a biter. Everybody was immediately executed.

And then they started running out of ammo. Holliver was the first to fall, his throat ripped out by one of the biters. Next was Vitya who tried to save a woman from some biters but was chased into an alley instead. She had no idea if he made it out or not. Jackson got taken out by some survivors who mistook him for a biter. Clean head shot so he wouldn't come back either.

The three of them pressed on, hoping to find shelter in one of the many buildings. Jeffry ran away when things got hot again. The little coward had turned around and gotten himself out before the biters could come in. That's how she lost Browning. Without Jeffry's cover her squad mate's left side had been wide open.

He was down in ten seconds.

And she had used that to get away. She ran off and into the sewer system below the city. There were a few walkers down there, but it wasn't too bad. She managed to survive so far.

That was two months ago…

Today had been an average day so far, she had ditched her military outfit and replaced it with cammo pants, a black tank and a sturdy leather jacket. She still had her combat boots, weapons, first aid kit and survival gear with her. It was the only good thing that had come from the military lately.

Surviving in an infected city wasn't easy, especially not if you were on your own. But she managed, barely. One of her goals was to get out eventually, once an opening presented itself.

She was scavenging supplies in one of the many shops when she saw it. A man on horseback riding through the city as if he belonged there.

That fool was gonna get himself killed if he wasn't careful. She watched him for a few minutes, returning to her supply run once he'd gotten out of sight. With some luck, he would draw the chompers away from the shops and towards him. It certainly would make her supply run easier.

She loaded up her pack and carefully checked her surroundings before heading out into the street. The building opposite hers was relatively empty most of the time. It had a few small apartments and usually some sort of canned food. She'd been living off canned beans and peaches for months, so anything else would be a welcomed break.

She heard the gunfire and dying cries of the horse as she ran across the street and went into the apartment building. That guy wasn't her problem. She was done rescuing civilians. It wasn't what she had sworn to once upon a time, but the apocalypse will do that to you after awhile.

Old values were replaced by new ones, ones catered to survival instead of aid. She didn't care about the handful of living people still in or around Atlanta. At least that's what she told herself anyway. Not thinking about it all made it easier.

There was a lot of commotion out on the street before it went quiet once again. Chompers flooded the streets again, cutting off her route to base camp. Not that she left many things there. She usually just took everything with her for swift relocation. She left her sleeping bag though… Not the smartest idea in a situation like this.

She was just gonna have to find a new one, she supposed. Couldn't be that hard, right? She slowly made her way through the apartments, scavenging all the canned food she could carry. She was loading up the last few cans when she heard it. A car alarm blaring through the otherwise silent city, drawing all the chompers away from her location. She stooped low and hid for a moment or two before continuing her little scavenge hunt. She found a place to sleep in one of the empty apartments, the kitchen was still working and it was stocked with bottled water. So she could camp out here for a few days if needed. She didn't think it would be a problem though, at least not at first…

And then she heard him scream. Yelling at the sky that he wasn't gonna beg for it, he deserved it but he wouldn't beg. And then eventually that died down too. The night rolled into dawn when she heard the door to the adjoined rooftop open. She came to her senses quickly and hid behind the door, gun in hand and ready to shoot if it decided to attack her. But the stumbling man never even came near her, instead he seemed focused on something else entirely. It took her a moment or two to realize he was missing a hand…

And he was cauterizing the gaping wound with the fire coming from the cooking pits. Smart, and yet pretty dumb. He could get an infection that way or the wound could become necrotic. That was probably the last thing the guy could've wanted. The man froze when he spotted her bag and turned around to face her, her knife almost touched the tip of his nose and he looked at it for several seconds before passing out. He obviously wasn't having a good day and she didn't really want to make it worse.

She kneeled down to get a good look at him and her eyes widened when she recognized the man in front of her. She'd seen him before, had dealt a lot with back in the mountains of Georgia. Sitting in front of her was none other then Merle Dixon himself. This was gonna be good…


	2. On the road

**So this is the update to this story, hope you guys like it and if you have any requests that you'd like to see in this story, let me know. :)**

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><p>Soft groans made her look up at her patient. Merle was starting to wake up. The only question was, did he remember her at all. Granted, they ran into each other back in their hometown but they came from different worlds. He came from an abusive home while she grew up in a loving family. The only times they interacted was at the school when Merle picked up Daryl or in the park. She usually sat there with a science book while Merle got himself a fix from the local dealer. Somehow they always ended up sitting next to one another. He called her Rosita, mostly because of her Latina heritage and grinned at her all the time. Which was really creepy back then, she was thirteen when he joined her on that park bench for the first time. She was sixteen when he left town for good…<p>

She had been a little sad about it at first, his presence became soothing after awhile but she adjusted. Just like she always did. She left her hometown behind two years later to join the army. And now, here they were again. Like old times.

She kneeled down beside him and checked his pulse as he squinted up at her. "Get ya…" He muttered, weakly pushing against her chest with the good hand he had left. She paid him no mind and carefully changed the bandages around the clotted and mangled wound. Wild flesh would soon cover it but until that time she had to keep any infections at bay. That wouldn't be easy. She gave him some antibiotics and cleaned out the wound as best as she could at the time but it probably wouldn't be enough.

They couldn't stay here. Other survival groups were stirring in the upcoming light of dawn and she wasn't looking for a confrontation. Not with Merle in this condition. She could leave him and go on on her own. No one would blame her for that. Aside from Merle…

She sighed and silently cursed her conscious and morals. She couldn't leave him behind. It wasn't the right thing to do and she knew him. They had grown up together in a way, Daryl was her age and Merle was always with Daryl. Except when he wasn't and was doing time in Juvi. The point was, she couldn't abandon him like this. He'd die out here and become one of the chompers. She wasn't gonna let that happen.

She looked back at him and sat back on her hunches, staring at him calmly as he tried to swat her away. The only thing he accomplished was patting her knee so she wasn't particularly impressed. "Come on, ya big log. Let's get goin'." She stood up and hoisted her pack on her bag before pulling him up on his feet. He protested and tried to push her away but she wasn't gonna give up this easily. She made sure his left arm was slung around her shoulders so she could properly support him.

The progress they made was slow but they managed to stay out of reach of the chompers. Merle was starting to cooperate a little, walking with her instead of letting her drag him around the city. Whether that was voluntarily was to be seen. He started mumbling something or the other as they stumbled along the train tracks leading out of the city. "Truck." Merle groaned as they took a short break to catch their breath. There was a truck just twenty yards away but she didn't really trust it. It couldn't be abandoned like this, so what if it was a trap?

Then again… Merle wouldn't be able to walk on much longer, taking that truck would increase his chances of survival. She sighed and readjusted her grip around his waist, supporting him as they approached the truck. She carefully peeked into the cabin and frowned when it was empty. The keys were still in the contact, so whoever had gotten it here was planning to leave this way. Well, too bad for them. She needed it more right now. She checked the back just to be sure and breathed a sigh of relief. It was empty.

She got Merle in the passenger seat with some difficulty and buckled him in. Once they got away from the city she could give him better treatment but right now her priority was to get the hell outta Georgia. She closed the door once she got him settled and got in the drivers seat. She put her pack between them and got the truck started. They were on the highway within the hour.

"The hell am I?" He muttered, she took a quick glance in his direction before focusing her attention back on the road.

"Mornin' sleepin' beauty." She chuckled when he rubbed his head with his hand and looked back at her.

"Who the hell are you?"

"An old friend."

"Tha hell you are, chimichanga."

"You really don't recognize me, do ya?"

"Should I?"

"Depends on whether or not you ever want that army knife back."

"Army knife?"

"You don't remember the park back in Ellijay?"

He frowned at her before gaping at her in recognition. "No way…" He muttered "Rosita?"

She threw him a quick wink, smirking when his lips curled up a little. "It's Vani."

"Whatever you say Rosita."

She simply rolled her eyes and shook her head turning the truck towards the interstate. Just a few hours more and they were out of Georgia. "What the…" She slammed the breaks, the tires screeching over the pavement of the interstate. It wasn't enough and the small truck slammed into the mass of cars blocking the road.

Her head slammed against the wheel and she blacked out for a couple of minutes as her body processed the force of the impact. When she came to the seat next to her was empty. The window shield wasn't broken and aside from the crushed engine the truck was intact. She opened her door and stumbled out, turning to grab her pack out of the truck.

She walked on a couple of steps before she spotted Merle sitting against one of the cars. He placed a finger against his lips indicating that she had to stay quiet. She crouched and stayed low, coming up next to him to peek over the car.

"Fuckin' fantastic…" She cursed softly as she slid back down and looked over at her companion. "Chompers everywhere and that crash is drawin' them all here. We gotta make a run for it.."

"No way chimichanga, we ain't in no condition to just run for it."

"Shit." She sighed and looked over at the shuffling biters. "We can out walk them. Find the highway and make our way into the woods. Camp there."

"Don't sound so good either…" He shrugged and dragged himself up on his feet. "'Suppose it's better than them biters."

She blinked and rubbed her forehead before slinging his arm over her shoulder. The two stumbled down the highway, staying ahead of the chompers. Good thing those rotten things were extremely slow. Her head was killing her and her muscles protested against every movement. "I'd kill for some aspirin right about now." She murmured as they made their way down the exit lane.

It was still quiet some distance to the nearest trees but as long as they managed to keep this pace they could stay out of the herds reach. It shouldn't be too long before they could finally find themselves a good place to hide. They kept their eyes on the tree line as they hoisted each other over the highway barrier. The herd was falling behind as they pushed on. Military training could get you places if you knew how to put it to use, and luckily the both of them had that knowledge.

When they finally stopped somewhere it was on the edges of a cliff. One of the larger ledges was far away enough from the top and the ground below to provide decent cover and shelter. They could camp out for a few days and get their strength back. For her the plan was still the same as ever, get out of Georgia and towards New York. The survival camps there had to be active and running. They just had to.

She did wonder what he was gonna do. Was he gonna come with her or find Daryl? Was she gonna let him make that decision? They could both look for Daryl and then go North, the three of them would be stronger than on her own. Maybe she oughta suggest that as their next plan of action.

She looked at Merle's ragged stump as he carefully tried to change the bandages by himself. She sighed after a minute or two and stepped in to help. "Here." She said as she wrapped new sterile bandages around it and cushioned it as best she could.  
>Merle stared at her as she worked and she tried to ignore it for the most part. "Thanks." He muttered after awhile.<p>

She gave him a smile in return and sat back once she was done. "How did it happen anyway?" She asked, her voice soft and almost inaudible over the sounds of the forest.  
>He looked up at her and turned his head away. Whatever had happened, it was bad and it made her so angry. Merle wasn't the easiest person to hang around with, she knew that, but to hurt him like that? Whoever had taken his hand was a monster and she would slay that foul beast if it ever came near him again.<p>

"I cut it off."


	3. The Farm

"Why?" She looks at him intently, trying to figure out why he'd do such a thing. She didn't know him well, but she knew enough to know he'd never cut off a limb. Not unless his life was on the line.

"They cuffed me to that rooftop. Couldn't cut the cuffs, so cut off my own hand." He shrugged and leaned back against the cool stone. It was almost as if he just didn't care. But she knew better than that, he did care. Even if he tried to wave everything off, he still cared.

"Geez…" She muttered and shook her head "What an assholes!"

"Ya think?" Merle chuckled and closed his eyes, taking in the cool comfort of the stone wall. It was sorta soothing to the senses, but she was grateful they managed to make a small contained fire for warmth.

"If you need help kickin' their arsses.."

"You'll be the first I'll call, Rosita." He smirked and roamed his eyes over her body. Damn horn dog was checking her out. Some things never changed…

They stayed on the ledge for three days, gathering their strength as they healed their wounds. Well at least healed them enough to get going. Merle's arm would take another six months to even remotely heal but her concussion was improving. Some of the biters had gathered below, groaning and trying to reach for them. They missed by about ten feet but that didn't seem to matter to them. Thankfully the reanimated corpses were really stupid. The climb back up was difficult but manageable, nothing they couldn't handle.

The two of them wandered deeper into the forest, listening for any sounds of trouble as they walked.

A twig snapped somewhere to their left and the two froze, taking in their surroundings carefully. She looked back at Merle, signaling there was a figure on their left flank and slowly stalked towards the intended target. Merle just walked ahead, not bothered or worried by anything in the slightest. Damn arrogant…

She stopped in her tracks and squinted her eyes, grabbing her gun and aiming it as the figure ran. A dull thud followed almost immediately after. Merle was standing over another mans body, smirking down at the fat guy at his feet. "There you are, Rosita. Look what old Merle caught."

She scowled as he laughed at her, she didn't appreciate being ridiculed and she'd be sure to let him know that later. For now though, the man on the ground was far more interesting. "So I see…" She said as she slowly circled around the two men. "And who have you caught, oh old Merle?"  
>"O-o-Otis Ma'am." The fat man stuttered, looking wildly from her to Merle and back. So the guy was scared of them? Good, that meant he wouldn't dare to pull shit on them.<br>"And where are you from, Otis?" She asked, glaring at Merle when he interrupted the stranger with a "Who cares?".

"I do. He may be able to help us." She snapped back, looking back at Otis with a raised eyebrow. "Well?"

"From a farm, it's not far from here. The owner, he's a vet. He can help you." Otis stammered, looking at Merle the entire time. He may seem fat and stupid but he clearly wasn't unintelligent. Any sane man would be wary around Merle Dixon.

Vani smirked and helped the guy up on his feet. "Well then, Otis. Let's go." She shot Merle a quick look before smiling at Otis. The large man led them straight to the farm, little questions asked about who they were and what they did. Not a smart move.

She could see the wheels in Merle's head turning as they walked up to the farm. He was cooking up some plans and she doubted it would be good for the current residents. A young woman with light brown shoulder length hair and a cowboy hat came out to greet them.  
>"Hey there." The girl grinned at them and opened the gate to let them in. "Name's Maggie."<p>

"Vani." She replied, nodding at the younger woman before pointing at the redneck. "That's Merle. Don't ask, he was born that way."

"Haha, very funny Rosita."

"You love me anyway, ya big doofus."

"Shut up."

Maggie chuckled at their little banter and invited them inside, leading the way up to the porch. An elder man came out of the house and stared at them intently before stepping aside to let them in. He brought them to the kitchen, leading them to two chairs. "Please, sit down."  
>The elderly man looked at Merle's right arm and frowned. "What happened? Did one of the mob get you?"<p>

Merle laughed and gave the old man a pointed look. "Nah, cut it off myself."

"Why would you do that?"

"They chained me to a damn rooftop."

"Why would anyone do that?" A blonde haired girl stood in the doorway as Vani looked up. She was young, about sixteen. Still innocent and naive despite the harsh world that was now their reality.

"Cause they're little stinkin' jerks, that's why." Merle replied, glaring as the old man started unwrapping his bandages. "Least buy me dinner first, old man."

"It's Hershell. And I will, soon as I cleaned this up."

Vani and Merle shared a chuckle at Hershells kind of humor. Maggie came into the kitchen with a large black leather bag, like the ones the doctors of the early twentieth century carried with them. Maggie started cleaning her scrapes and cuts while her father tried to salvage what he could of the ragged cut stump. He cleaned it up and stitched it to the best of his abilities but it would never look pretty.

"'S okay doc, now it matches my face." Merle joked, relaxing when Hershell gave him something for the pain. "Ooh, the good stuff."

"Merle, get a room." Vani winced when Maggie hit a sensitive spot but kept her composure. She was a frigging soldier and she could handle scrapes and cuts. No fucking problem.

Once they were both cleaned up and treated Hershell invited them to stay for dinner with the family. Sitting at a table was strange and foreign to them, especially after camping out in the open for so long. She smiled at Otis's wife when she passed the breadbasket and tried to act as normal as possible. She was failing miserably judging by Merle's smirking.

"Thanks, blondie." Merle said as he took the salad bowl from Beth. If this situation wasn't so goddamn awkward she would've laughed at the look of surprise on poor Beth's face.

"So, Vani. Where are you from?" Patricia asked and for a moment everybody stopped what they were doing to listen what she had to say.

"I'm from Ellijah, Georgia. Merle's too." She replied shortly, putting some potatoes on her plate followed by a pork chop and some gravy.

"I see, that's in the mountains isn't it? Is it nice up there?"

Vani tried to smile at the questions Patricia was asking but at the moment she just wanted to bolt upstairs and hide. Battlefields and Merle Dixon she could handle, sitting at a table and pretending to have a normal 'family' dinner however creeped her out considerably.

"It is in the summer." She replied quickly and thankfully Patricia didn't ask any further questions.

Merle laughed at her discomfort, earning a glare from Vani, not that he would take the hint. "You doin' alright there, darlin'?" He chuckled, mischief practically sparkling in his eyes.

"Darling? Are you married?" Beth asked softly, earning a laugh from Merle. The damn bastard was playing this family, earning their trust while fucking with her at the same time. God what an asshole.

"Yeah." Merle answered simultaneously with her "No."

"Sounds like it's complicated." Hershell chuckled.

The dinner continued quietly for the rest of the evening. The Greene family was kind enough to appoint them a room. With only one king sized bed… Just fucking fantastic. She felt him come up behind her, his hand sliding over her hip, pulling her closer until her back was against his chest.

"We gotta keep up appearances and I can still show ya a good time, Rosita."

She could feel his lips on her neck as he smelled her hair and teased her with soft kisses. She shouldn't fall for this, shouldn't do this. But really, what harm would it do. She hadn't gotten laid since before this mess started, and right now she had a horny man on her hands who was offering. "Are you now?" She smiled and bit her lip as his lips nipped at her neck.

"Sure am." He smirked and undid the button of her pants with some difficulty. "You want it?"

"Hell yeah." She breathed, turning around to face him. She pulled him closer by the waistband of his jeans and rid him of the offending garment swiftly. Her own clothing followed soon after along with his shirt and underwear. "On the bed." She commanded, smirking when he wouldn't cooperate.

She gave him a gentle shove, chuckling at the sight of his dick bouncing as he hit the bed. "You want that don't ya?" He smirked as he lazily stroked himself. And she had to admit, he did have a good looking cock. If it preformed as good as it looked, she was gonna have a good time.

"Mmm, I do." She hummed as she crawled up the bed and mounted him. She teased him with soft moans short thrusts, driving him mad with want before they even started.  
>She guided him in, moaning as he stretched her a little. He moaned and cursed under her as she rolled her hips, slowly picking up pace until he was fucking her thoroughly. "Fuck yeah." He moaned, his hand leaving a red imprint on her hip as he pounded up into her. "Ya like that?"<p>

She nodded and moaned, clenching her muscles to draw another moan from his lips. They fucked with vigor, building up their releases slowly until it all came crashing down upon them. They rode out their orgasms, moving as one until Merle was basically sleeping under her. She huffed a little and cleaned them up, not paying attention to the redneck until he tried to pull her down. She fell down on top of him, her chin crashing onto his chest as his head hit the headboard.

They looked at each other and blinked a few times before bursting into laughter. She cuddled up against him and closed her eyes, hoping that tomorrow would bring an even better day.

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><p><strong>And here it is, hope you guys like it. Let me know if you do and I'll see you guys at the next update.<strong>


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